One century ago this month, the last known remaining member of a bird species some thought to have been the most abundant on Earth passed away. The death of the 29-year-old female passenger pigeon, named Martha, marked the extinction of the species that once covered North America with enormous flocks. Deforestation and extensive hunting reduced the flocks greatly by the second half of the 19th Century, and the decline could not be reversed. Martha died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo, and her preserved remains were displayed for many years at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. We are now more devoted to conserving and preserving. In the U.S., there are over 600 zoos and botanical gardens, and over 5,000 museums. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.